Monday, May 20th, 2013

Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington

Amazing Photo of the Old Post Office

Posted by: Ghosts of DC on January 20, 2012 in Faces & Places of Yesterday, Featured 2 Comments

Here’s a cool short post to end this Friday. I was scanning Shorpy and came across this photograph. I think it’s amazing. The building was built between 1892 and 1899. This photo was taken a year later, in 1900, so it’s brand new and it looks great … not to mention, it dominates the entire block. It’s massive.

Old Post Office (1900)

Old Post Office (1900)

Bathing Suit Police at the Tidal Basin (ghostsofdc.org)
America’s Smallest Post Office (ayearofletters.wordpress.com)
Cooling Off in Rock Creek (ghostsofdc.org)
Watch Out For That Tree! … Mailbox, Lamp Post and Emergency Callbox (ghostsofdc.org)
Abraham Lincoln in Color (1865) (ghostsofdc.org)
Charleston, SC circa 1910 (thedustsettles.com)

Tagged with: 1900s Old Post Office Pennsylvania Ave. NW Shorpy

About Ghosts of DC

Ghosts of DC is a blog about the history of Washington, D.C. and its surroundings. We live in a great city, and it's important for everyone to know a little more about their communities, neighborhoods and city.

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YellowLiner

It’s beautiful today, too. I just wish someone could find a better use for it.
Opera_Gal

The building currently hosts federal cultural agencies, such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. This would seem to be an appropriate use of the space, considering that the building had been slated for demolition and was only preserved due to the hard work of NEA Chairman Nancy Hanks, who secured its historic designation and thus preservation.

Open to the public are the lobby level, the lower level, and the tower. The former offer food court restaurants and small shops geared for tourists. The tower of the building provides among the most incredible views of downtown Washington available. This building was constructed prior to the “height of buildings” congressional act passed in 1899 — that restricted all building heights at 110 feet — and as a result the views are without parallel. The Old Post Office is the second tallest building in the city, standing at 315 feet.

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